Holger Rune, 19, should have been the top seed at next week’s NextGen ATP Finals in Milan. Instead, Holger enjoyed an incredible week at the Paris Masters and will not be fighting for the crown he missed out on 12 months ago.
Holger has been on a roll this fall, playing in four consecutive indoor ATP finals and winning titles in Stockholm and Paris! The young Dane defeated five top 10 opponents in a row in Paris to lift his first Masters 1000 crown and become the fourth-youngest champion in the premium ATP series.
With those 1,000 points, Holger will break into the top 10 on Monday and travel to Turin as the first alternate at the ATP Finals. world no. World 1 Carlos Alcaraz will not play in Turin, and Rune is hoping for another retirement to have the opportunity to compete in the prestigious event at such a young age.
Paris Masters champion Holger Rune has withdrawn from the NextGen ATP Finals.
Holger played the NextGen ATP Finals in Milan, winning a round-robin match and failing to make it past the group stage. At this point, he is not interested in going back there, especially after an epic victory in the final of the Paris Masters.
In pursuit of the most notable title of his young career, Rune defeated six-time Paris Masters winner Djokovic in thrilling five sets. Previously, the Dane saved match points against Stan Wawrinka in the first round and defeated four top-10 opponents in a row to enter the title clash.
Holger outclassed Novak 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in two hours and 33 minutes to join the history books as the only player outside of the ATP Finals with five top-10 wins in a single event. Djokovic won five more points than Rune, but not the crucial ones.
Holger fended off ten of 12 break chances and broke Novak three times out of as many opportunities to emerge on top and start a massive celebration. Rune fired 43 game winners and 33 unforced errors, matching the opponent’s pace and fending off six break points in the final game of the encounter to get the job done before the tie break.
Djokovic had a big advantage in the shorter range up to four shots. However, the young gun erased the deficit in the longer ones, tamed his shots very well and found a way to dethrone the most successful player in this event.
Rune is the youngest champion in Paris since Boris Becker in 1986, capping his meteoric rise with a remarkable crown and gaining momentum ahead of 2023.
